Recently there have been three major flood – storm events in 2012, 2013-14 (SW coasts & Somerset), and 2015-2016 (Cumbria and the north of England). These have been characterised by a series of storms, following in close succession, covering different geographic locations but with quite devastating effects. In terms of costs and damages each of these comes in at over £1 billion. So this report is important because it reflects upon the realities of dealing with this scale of natural event and damage not least for our coastal communities and how prepared we are to meet this.

The government has published its National Flood Resilience Review (NFRR), along with a Property Level Resilience Report. The review, launched following last winter’s floods, looks at how the country can be better protected from future flooding and extreme weather.

The review includes:

  • £12.5 million for new temporary defences, such as barriers and high volume pumps, at seven strategic locations around the country. By this winter, the Environment Agency (EA) will have four times more temporary barriers than last year.
  • Utility companies’ commitment to increase flood protection of their key local infrastructure, such as phone networks and water treatment works, so they are resilient to extreme flooding.
  • A new stress test of the risk of flooding from rivers and the sea in England. For the first time, Met Office forecasts of extreme rainfall scenarios will be linked with Environment Agency modelling to provide a new assessment of flood risk.

However, the Review also highlights that as many as 530 critical infrastructure sites are vulnerable to inundation, which is not in Defra’s press release. The Review has had a mixed reaction, with Friends of the Earth describing it as a ‘washout’ and funding for temporary flood defences ‘a drop in the ocean’. The closer collaboration between sectors advocated in the Review was welcomed by many.

No Comment

Comments are closed.